Many may have dismissed V for Vendetta (2006) as yet another film adaptation of a graphic novel with a vaguely ridiculous title. However the film deals with far more complex issues than your average comic book movie fare. The story itself was developed from a series of engaging, multi-layered graphic novels published in Britain in […]
Where the name comes from is something they’re going to keep to themselves. Just to retain a little mystique, just to keep something exclusively for themselves, it ain’t the greatest secret in the world but in a world full of people who know everything about everything, it’s hard to keep anything in the dark. […]
Introduction I record that on July 31, 1383, there died the ill-famed Letta, daughter of Federigo di Pierozzo Sassetti, in the house of Giovanni di Noldo Porcellini, in the Borgo Ogni Santi. She was buried by the friars of the church of Ogni Santi at the hour of vespers. May the devil take her soul, […]
Former caretaker Prime Minister Lamberto Dini, who with an open mind has served in administrations headed by both Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi – supposedly ideologically worlds apart – has issued an ultimatum to current Prime Minister Romano Prodi. In an open letter to the premier, published in the Corriere della Sera, Dini outlines seven […]
Over the Christmas period, coincidentally when the newspapers were not published’grazia’, or early release, for his client, on humanitarian grounds. Contrada is an ageing and apparently ill man. The former police chief of Palermo, and later leading light in SISDE – one of Italy’s secret services, is currently serving a ten year sentence for collusion […]
Without much fanfare an Italian Senate commission on Justice matters has recommended a measure be brought before parliament allowing for a reduction in minimum period required to obtain a divorce. The recommendation calls for the reduction from 3 years to 1 year (or perhaps 6 months, where there are no children involved). While the measure […]
In the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1987 the Italian public voted, in a referendum, to halt the country’s nuclear program. In the last 2-3 years various leading politicians, from both the left and right, have supported the overturning of this referendum as Italy faces spiralling energy costs. Yesterday, for example, our favourite post-fascist […]
I know it’s a somewhat limited demographic, but if you’ve had a prefrontal lobotomy during the past few weeks, finding appropriate Christmas TV fare can be a challenge. You want something light, so as not to distract you from the absorbing task of managing your drool. Well, RTE has just the programme for you–Celebrity Jigs […]
Intercepted telephone calls between the leader of the opposition, Silvio Berlusconi, and the head of the state broadcasting company RAI’s fiction department have been blasted across the front pages of the newspapers, as a scandal blows itself up. The reason? Well, it appears that Silvio, a budding TV entrepreneur, has taken the opportunity to suggest […]